Thursday, March 14, 2013

I don't know how much yogurt you eat at your house, but I can tell you that all five of my kids {yes, even the baby} devour yogurt. I spend several dollars every week buying all of the little plastic tubs or colorful squeeze yogurts to pack in their school lunches or to use as snacks. I use a lot of coupons during my shopping trips (one day maybe I'll blog about that), and I always use yogurt coupons to get the very best price. Even my coupons couldn't get yogurt as cheap as making it from scratch, though! The process is a long one, but it is super easy.

You'll need a large crockpot. Set it on low. Take 1/2 a gallon of milk and pour it into the crockpot. Let it warm for 2.5 hours. It should reach 180 degrees, but I didn't actually take its temp, and mine worked out fine. Just saying. ;) After the 2.5 hours, turn the crockpot off and let the milk cool for three hours (again, it's "supposed" to reach 115 degrees, but if you don't know for certain it's really okay). When it has cooled, remove two cups of the milk and add it to 1/2 cup of plain yogurt with active cultures. I used a store brand plain yogurt...nothing fancy. Stir this together then pour it back into the crockpot with the rest of the milk. Wrap a bath towel around the whole crockpot and leave it for 8-12 hours.

Here's some trivia about myself. I don't like yogurt. Never have. When I was two I had spinal meningitis. The doctor suggested giving the antibiotics to me with yogurt. I STILL remember the taste of that and associate it with the medicine and being sick. I did try a bite of this. It tastes like yogurt. ;) I served it to my children right out of the crockpot for breakfast. I added frozen strawberries to give it some sweetness. You can add whatever toppings or flavors you like. I've heard of people putting in vanilla one teaspoon at a time until they got the desired flavor. You can also drizzle honey on top for added sweetness.

Keep in mind that this yogurt will be fairly watery. That's the whey. You can strain it off with a thin wired strainer and cheese cloth. Just let it strain for 8ish hours AFTER it sits for the 8-12 hours in the crockpot. It should produce about two cups of whey. You can throw that out, or I have heard that there are bread recipes that turn out really well. As you can see, I am storing mine in Mason jars. Mostly because they look cute. You could use plastic containers with lids. The yogurt will stay good for up to two weeks in the fridge. Don't forget to save 1/2 cup of your yogurt to use as a starter in your next batch!

Living in small town Oklahoma, I am married to the sweetest man you will ever meet. We have five young children, so I would now consider myself a professional juggler. I'm a wannabe crafter, cook, baker, and gardener. Some might call me crunchy. I'm okay with it.